The announcement was made in an e-mail to the Yale College Dean’s Office on Friday afternoon. In the same message, Salovey announced that Shelley Lowe, who is currently finishing her doctorate at the University of Arizona, will be the first assistant dean for Native American affairs.

Gentry’s eight years working with students at Middlebury on a wide range of initiatives made him a strong candidate to oversee undergraduate policies relating to residential and extracurricular life, Salovey said.

“Marichal is known for his engagement with individual students, both as a mentor and as a supporter of student-led activities,” Salovey said in an e-mail.

Salovey cited Gentry’s work as Acting Dean of the Office for Institutional Diversity — as well as his advising of student groups such as Distinguished Men of Color and his efforts to organize a symposium on campus leadership — as experiences that qualified Gentry for the job.

Gentry said he is excited to tackle the challenges associated with a larger student body like Yale’s.

“I see as it more opportunities to interact with students and more opportunities to engage in the dialogue of the campus,” he said. “I think that would probably be a little different [from Middlebury]. It’s just going to be a little more of it.”

Because Salovey is currently out of the country, Gentry said, he does not yet know all the details of the transition process, but he will be coming to New Haven in the coming weeks to begin looking for housing. Gentry also said he plans to meet with Trachtenberg in order to “get the lay of the land” from her.

Lowe will also arrive at Yale in the fall, where she will direct the Native American Cultural Center in her role as assistant dean. Lowe has been the facilitator of the Native American Indian Studies Program at the University of Arizona for the past six years.